Class at the small Bible College begins at around 7:30 am to the sound of their school bell (a rock dinging against the steel frame of the building), and the dozen or so pastors in training trickle in during the first ten minutes of the session. Teaching here has been an awesome privilege and a great joy, and I feel so honored to get to share God's word with these students. I've started with 1 Corinthians, and today we talked about church discipline - something that many of these students have seen practiced in their churches, often times done poorly (nothing like the US :). It was thrilling to get to field questions during the session - you never know what kind of crazy situation they're going to throw at you, but it was also amazing to see how little humanity has changed, both across cultures and over the past 2000 years since the letter to the Corinthians. Teaching here has been a blast, and while communication can be slow and difficult, seeing the change in the eyes of the students as understanding dawns is so worth it.
Speaking of difficulties in communication, the other day I was talking and getting to know the students after class, when a young man I hadn't met walked over. I put my hand out to meet him, and when i asked his name, he said "Moseesee." "Hey Moseesee, great to meet you. How are you doing today, Moseesee?" And the whole time I was calling him "Moseesee" the other students around we're looking strangely at me, like there was something wrong. I asked what was up, and they said I was calling him "Aseena" in their language. "What is Aseena?" I asked. "What?! You don't know what Aseena is? Don't you know, from the Bible, Aseena??" I had no idea - I was trying to remember obscure names and cities from the Old Testament, but I couldn't remember reading about Aseena! "No, I don't remember reading about Aseena in the Bible." "Don't you know, someone who is bad - Aseena?" they finally asked. "OH!! A SINNER!!" "Yes!! Aseena!" I apologized to Moses (that's what his name was) and told him I was a Moseesee too.
Like I said, teaching here is a blast, and while communicating can be a challenge, a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at yourself goes a long way. Thank you for your prayers and support - I'm looking forward to getting to share more stories!
-Andrew
Praying for you. Love the updates and wonderful illustrations that God is working. We SO miss you BIG. But we understand you're working very hard with people who need help. Many hands make light work. We love you! Grace, Aileen, Tyler and Lorraine
ReplyDelete